1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a device and method for laminating first and second parts via a suspension lamination technique. In the instant method, a laminating adhesive film disposed between the mating surfaces of the parts to be laminated is cured while one of the parts is suspended from the other via surface tension and/or capillary attraction. The adhesive may be, for example, an ion-conducting polymer used in electrochromic applications. This method and device generally distributes an adhesive film evenly between the mating surfaces of the parts and facilitates accurate alignment of the parts prior to curing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The formation of a composite eyeglass lens by bonding front and rear lenses together is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,227. That bonding process involves placing an adhesive on the concave surface of the front lens; pressing the convex surface of the rear lens against the adhesive on the front lens to evenly spread the adhesive throughout the gap between the two lenses and permitting the adhesive to set to bond the lenses together. This process forms a composite lens which may be trimmed to fit within an eyeglass frame and which may be further processed if desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,810 also discloses an eyeglass lens lamination method and apparatus which involves pressing lenses together to spread an adhesive between them. The adhesive is cured while the lenses are pressed together.
An apparatus for aligning and laminating the upper and lower lenses of a composite eyeglass lens is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 51993!-24872 and in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 61994!-49600. The apparatus disclosed in these applications includes upper and lower lens retaining members. Each lens is held in its respective retaining member by a vacuum and the retaining members are moveable. The apparatus includes aligning members which move laterally relative to the vertical axes of the lens retaining members to contact the peripheral edges of the lenses to align the axes thereof. Each aligning member has a contact end to contact the peripheral edges of the lenses with a predetermined force.
In operation, the upper retaining member picks up the lower lens and moves laterally to place the lower lens on the lower retaining member. The lower lens is aligned with the axis of the lower retaining member by the aligning members after which the aligning members are withdrawn and the lower lens is held in place on the lower retaining member by a vacuum. A bonding agent is applied to the center of the lower lens. The upper retaining member picks up the upper lens and aligns it with the axis of the lower lens. The upper lens is then lowered until it touches the bonding agent on the lower lens after which the aligning members continue to move laterally inwardly to contact the peripheral edges of the upper and lower lenses to axially align them. The aligning members are then withdrawn and the upper retaining member is lowered and the composite lens is removed after the bonding agent sets.